Just Like Old Times
by Cally Starkiller
Summary: A quick trip for supplies on Omega is the obvious start of a bad day. But when old friends reassure you that it'll be 'Just like old times', you know that it will be. And you would do anything to make sure that those friends live. inspired by Kick-Ass.
1. Turians Everwhere

**Inspired by Kick-Ass the movie.**

**I own nothing.**

**Enjoy.**

"Omega. What a shithole." Miranda muttered.

"My god woman. Would you stop complaining?" Shepard glared at her 'second-in-command'.

"But why Omega? We could've went to the Citadel or even Illium for supplies. Anything is better than this place." Miranda pointed out, walking alongside Shepard, Garrus, and Tali.

"Okay. One: I'm the Commander. And you aren't. Two: We haven't been to Omega in a long time. And three: Omega has better bars." Shepard named off, using her fingers to count.

Miranda didn't answer back, leaving Shepard silently cheering that she won the argument. Garrus looked between the two human women and shook his head. Tali smiled, relishing in the moment. It has been awhile since Shepard openly joked after finally reading that message about Horizon from Kaidan Alenko.

"I'm going to get the weapon upgrades. Meet you at Afterlife." Miranda said with a swing of her hair over her shoulder, and she walked off toward the general direction of the markets.

"Guess its just us three then." Shepard noted. She gestured for the two to follow as they walked the streets of Omega. "You know what's funny? It actually does smell like shit here."

Garrus chose to ignore that while Tali slightly giggled. "I guess so."

The three old friends wandered the place, gawking at every lit up building they saw. "Too bad the Reapers will destroy it all huh?" Shepard commented, the pessimistic side of her showing.

"Aw come on Shepard. Where is this coming from?" Tali questioned, looking at her friends strangely.

"Doesn't it feel like at times…like its all impossible? All those Collectors? That was just the beginning and we're already tired from it all. Nobody is helping us, not the Council, the Alliance, and barely Cerberus. It just feels like as if we're on our own." She explained, gesturing wildly.

"You have us." Garrus cut in, nudging his Commander a bit.

"I suppose I do." Shepard sighed and leaned into her turian slightly. "Time to kick ass."

* * *

Miranda strolled through the filthy streets of Omega, glancing behind her every so often. Even though she was armed with an upgraded heavy pistol, kinetic shields, and biotics, she still felt vulnerable. She was out in the open, an easy target for snipers and close combat thugs.

Hurrying to get her destination, she sped walked. She faintly heard footsteps following her through her genetically modified ears. Cursing underneath her breathe, she walked even faster, nearly running.

The footsteps just got louder.

Miranda gripped her pistol, waiting for the shots to come. None of them came. Only the quick knock-out punch that even her shields couldn't protect against.

* * *

"I hate being out of my armor." Shepard grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Then why'd you wear that?" Garrus asked, pointing to her N7 casual wear.

"Wanted to feel comfortable. Besides, that armor can be a pain in the ass to wear." Shepard explained, tugging her white tee down tighter. "I thought you liked this better than that 'restricting' armor anyways?"

"Oh I did. I just think you look more 'bad ass' in your armor as well." Garrus replied back smoothly, silently applauding himself for not stuttering. Tali grinned at the couple, happy to see the Commander enjoying herself.

"Looks like Kelly was right when she said you two would make a cute couple." Tali joined in, causing Shepard to almost blush.

"Kelly said that?" Garrus questioned, looking down at his partner.

"She…might have said that." Shepard replied, trying hard not to snap back at Tali's remark.

Garrus chuckled, bringing his arm around his Commander. "So the only reason we 'blew off steam' was because of Kelly?"

Shepard's eyes widened, "No!" She quickly quipped, slapping his arm playfully. "The decision was all on my own Garrus."

"Okay good." Garrus pretended to wipe sweat off his brow. "Cause I didn't want some human stripper controlling our relationship."

"Kelly is not-" Tali said incredulously but Shepard cut her off.

"She is too! She even has a traditional asari dancing outfit." Shepard said, mortified by the fact.

"That's…not disturbing at all." Garrus said sarcastically, shaking his head once more. "You humans are strange…"

"If I hear that one more time I will-" Shepard griped the turian arm tighter.

"Hey hey! Look over there!" Tali cut in, trying to side track their argument.

Shepard whipped around to where Tali was pointing at and saw a turian running with a sniper in his hands. "Guns people." Shepard grabbed her heavy pistol that was strapped to her leg while Garrus hefted his sniper rifle and Tali charged up her shotgun.

"After him." She ordered, a strange gut feeling welling up within her. Something was wrong. Her survival instincts sprang, making her sprint faster toward the turian. She caught up with him and the turian sniper looked over his shoulder at her, and quickly jabbed at her.

Shepard was NOT expecting that. It threw her off, his fist colliding with her jaw. A noticeable 'crack' echoed and Garrus growled. He switched from his sniper rifle to his assault rifle and fired.

The turian sniper dropped dead, his blue blood dripping into a puddle. A few bystanders barely glanced, and continued on with their business, most likely accustomed to the occasional firefights.

"Garrus!" Shepard clenched her jaw, it was sorely hurting. "Now we can't interrogate him!" She angrily ripped off the turian's belt, searching its contents. Only a holopads containing data.

Shepard quickly read it, her mouth agape. "Miranda come in." She spoke loudly into her comm., pressing a hand to her other ear.

No answer. "Damn it." She muttered under her breathe.

"Shepard?" Garrus looked at her with his steely blue eyes, expecting an answer.

"Business as usual. Group of angry turians want any crew members by my side dead or interrogated while I get captured with them. Ready for hostage retrieval?"

* * *

"Wake up human." A gruff turian voice rang out, piercing her ears.

She merely moaned in answer, feeling someone viscously kick her. "Ah!" She yelped out, knowing that bruises were already forming. Working her jaw a bit, she hoarsely yelled out, "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing. Just your Commander." The turian answered, pressing his pistol against the human's neck. "Let's see if she took the bait shall we?"

"Zaged. Come in. Zaged." The turian did his own version of a smile when he didn't answer.. "Looks like she did. Men, prepare for the infamous Commander Shepard herself to grace us with her presence."

"Let me go." Miranda said defiantly, tiny droplets of blood spilling out as she spoke.

"After we deal with your Commander, human." The turian promised, knowing his own statement to be a lie.

* * *

"For some odd yet obvious reason…I sense a trap." Shepard stated plainly, reading the contents of the holopads for the umpteenth time.

"Then why are we going there in the first place?" Garrus asked, hugging his sniper rifle closer to himself.

"Ugh." Shepard mentally face palmed herself. "One: They have Miranda. Two: They tried to kill us. Three: Better than fighting Collectors."

"Makes sense. Garrus…have common sense next time." Tali joked, giving her friend a sideways glance.

Garrus grumbled to himself, still tightly holding onto his sniper rifle. "Commander, I don't like this."

Shepard noted his 'Commander' and nodded. "I know. This doesn't…feel right." She squared up her shoulders, wishing that she brought her armor. At least she has the built in shields like Miranda.

Shepard looked down at the holopads again, looking up every so often to check they were heading the right direction. "Big scary door." Shepard commented, staring at the door in front of them as they finally got there. "Looks like typical 'enemy base' style. That's just stupid."

"More than stupid. Keelah, its like having a flashing sign over your head saying, 'Come kill me!'" Tali agreed, checking her shotgun to see if it was loaded correctly.

"Remember what I said earlier? Time to kick-ass." She charged through the door, which lead down a narrow hallway leading into a much bigger room. "Tactically, a good place to get ambushed. Be on your guard."

The trio crowded near each other, guns held out in front of them, ready to kill. Suddenly, numerous shots rang out and Shepard's biotics flared up. "Go go go!"

The firefight was over as soon as it began. "Anybody hurt?" She asked to the silence, realizing that one of their shots must've hit a light. "God…this is just great."

Tali answered her, "I'm okay. Shields down but slowly recharging…no suit-" Her voice got caught off by a loud snap.

"Tali!" Shepard flared up her biotics only to see no Tali and no Garrus. "How the hell did this happen?" She questioned silently, her hands still gripping her pistol tightly.

"Nice to finally meet you Commander Shepard." A distinctive turian voice said from behind her and she turned around, firing off a few shots. A chuckle echoed in the small room. "I have shields of course Commander."

Shepard cursed, mentally willing the lights to turn back on so she could at least see…"Funny this situation is. You don't call for backup. Probably thought you could take us down on your lonesome. Your friends are not here for you. And your human friend is held hostage. How far are you willing to go to risk their lives just so you could kill us?"

"Far enough." She randomly fired off a few shots to her side, her eyes getting used to the darkness. She could barely make out a shape but it was soon gone as the world around her faded into even more utter blackness.

* * *

"Commander Cally Shepard. How nice to see how far you fell." Shepard felt something cold against the back of her head.

"Who the hell…uhh…" Shepard groaned loudly, pain shooting up her limbs. Such intense pain…Shepard held back her yelp as a turian foot was jabbed against her throat.

"You humans were always so fragile yet so demanding. Personally, I think you humans grew up way too fast in this galaxy. You are not yet ready for all the responsibilities the Council offers you. So…I think its time to show you humans the price for your actions."

A bright light nearly blinded her as she blinked against the intensity of it. She adjusted, making out more shapes and figures. All turians. But where was Miranda or Garrus or Tali?

"Commander Shepard. They say she died from the destruction of the first Normandy. And she did, thankfully. But here she is again. Want to see your precious Earthborn, Sole Survivor of Akuze, Hero of the Citadel, and first human Spectre? Here she is…broken."

She blinked. What was happening? "Say hello Shepard." Then it hit her. Everybody, and she meant everybody, was watching. On the news, on live reports, and on videos streaming in their omni-tools.

"I think a little action is play don't you think fellow turians and aliens?" The head turian sounded extremely smug, and she wanted to wipe that grin off his face so badly. Reaching her arm to slug him, a turian foot held it down forcefully. She bit back her yelp of pain, as she noted that he broke her arm.

"God damn it!" She let out as the foot kicked her repeatedly. The gun that was against her head was now bashing her arms and back. "Do what you-" She was cut off by a swift kick to the jaw. Her small fingers tracing circles on the cold hard ground beneath her, she struggled not to scream.

"Shall we make a deal Commander fucking Shepard?" The previous turian spoke, standing in front of the camera that was filming this entire situation. "Currently, your friends are safe and sound with a few scars to share, and…"

Shepard weakly lifted her head up to meet the turian's face. "We can either let you go, and your friends can stay for a just a while longer…with even more scars to show and tell about. Or…"

She involuntarily flinched at his words. "We get to keep you, and your friends may go back to your ship in order to finish 'the fight'. Your choice Commander."

Back on her mission against Saren, her old self would've picked the option to let herself go as long as her friends were returned. In the end, they all would've survived but her friends would've resented her greatly, maybe not even talk to her. But now…she had to ponder it.

Ideally and realistically, the best choice is the 'keep friends longer' option. Her friends would be worse for wear when they returned and they would continue on with their mission. But…"Let them…go…I'll…stay."

"Now THAT is the most dumbest decision I've ever heard the great human Commander make. Very well. Enjoy the show."

Shepard could see out of the corner of her eye one familiar looking turian, one pissed human, and one quarian. Garrus looked back at her, shaking his head for the hundredth time. They were all weak, defenseless, and helpless without their guns, biotics, or help.

She knew it would be useless to use her biotics since she could feel an empty loss at the back of her skull, where her biotic implant was supposed to be. She also knew that was going to die. But it would be for her friends.

Her beating continued, various items were used to bashing her skin open, blood gushing out. But not once did she scream. Blue eyes widening in pain, she could feel the waterworks going. When the last kick was delivered, she did scream.

She screamed for Garrus.


	2. Just Like Old Times

**inspired by Kick-Ass.**

**I own nothing.**

**Enjoy!**

**Last chapter.**

* * *

When Thane heard the scream cry out for Garrus, he ran even faster. "Hurry. Siha is in trouble." Zaeed, Kasumi, Jack, Grunt, Samara, Legion, Mordin, and Jacob raced after Thane as the large group ran into the large door where they lost them.

Back at the Normandy, Joker watched the live footage with a stunned face. He wish he could be there with the others to help save Shepard but for now, he'd have to deal with being the cripple pilot. He winced every few minutes as the turians brutally beat up his Commander.

"Shit…" Joker murmured, as Shepard finally broke. She screamed. Thing is, she screamed for Garrus.

"Hurry the hell up guys!" Joker panicked. They weren't going to make it.

What felt like years was actually minutes when Thane gave him a status report. "Picked up Garrus, Tali'Zorah, and Miss Lawson from turian group. Hold on."

Joker could hear the various gunshots firing and then silence. He bit back the urge to yell when the silence grew even longer. As he continued to watch the screen, it suddenly turned black. _Oh shit…_

* * *

Every time she drew a breathe, this burning sensation welled up. She resorted to shallow breathing, never-ending blood droplets falling down from her mouth onto the cold ground. And every time she either winced, yelped, or cried out…they laughed. But to have everybody watching her around the galaxy…she wondered if Anderson was watching now and doing nothing.

Nobody was doing anything and it was killing her, literally and emotionally. Or was it all simply for the fact that nobody knew where she was at. Except Garrus…did he even hear her scream? To scream his name was possibly the worst thing she had done…to make him hear her pain…she glanced up as the pistol rammed into her jaw again.

She tried focusing on other things. Like how as a child she fantasized being just like her father, even though she had no mental picture of him at all…except for the hurt expression on his face as he died. But the pain came back harder, and now her entire attention was drawn to how intense it was.

The turians started taunting her, using 'human' and 'Shepard' as if they were petty insults. But right when the head turian was about to use a vorcha flamethrower, the lights went out. She blinked, unable to see anything at all this time.

Eventually, gunshots broke the silence, causing her to hold her breathe. Shepard huddled up into a ball, trying to make herself as small of a target as possible. Gunfire was exchanged all around her. She opened up her eyes to see a familiar figure…Jack? A biotic shockwave emanated from her, and numerous screams followed.

She could see the gray jacket of Thane fly by as he broke a nearby turian's neck before having to retreat behind cover. The war cry of an old merc echoed in the large room. Samara's distinct footsteps were coming closer until they stopped, singularity capturing three turians when she used her pistol to take advantage. The snap hiss of someone dumping their ammo.

"Flashlight Tali!" Jacob ordered as he biotic pulled a turian. A light came on from Tali's omni-tool but it kept shorting out, making it look like a strobe light. It reminded Shepard of the all-night raves down on Earth. Shepard felt like time was slowing as every member of her squad took turns beating down the remains of the turian group.

"It's not working!" Tali cried out as the flashlight continued flashing on and off every few seconds. "Where's Shepard!"

She whispered, her voice hoarse, "Here…" But nobody heard her over the sounds of exchanging bullets and biotics. The head turian, who has been crouching behind her the entire time, watching his team getting killed, used the flamethrower on her. It caught on her combat boots, working its way up her.

She yelled, the burning scorching her legs. "Garrus! Ahh!" She could barely move which made batting the flames off impossible. The 'boom headshot' hit the head turian, causing him to fall down on her. A familiar looking turian crouched down beside her, smoke filtering out of the sniper rifle he held.

He used his arms to bash down on the flames, which had already scorched worked its way up. Shepard held back her whimper as Garrus hugged her, trying furiously to get the flames to dissipate. "You…came…"

One last shotgun shot was fired as the rest of her team encircled her, worry coloring their expressions. She smiled, the burnt skin beneath her lips cracking. "All…of you."

"Never could leave you Shepard." Tali whispered, crouching down beside Garrus. Garrus gripped her tiny human hand into his hand, holding it tightly.

"How…did…you…find me?" Shepard asked, her heart rate slowing down. Mordin popped open his omni-tool, his flashlight on his replacing Tali's.

Mordin whispered something to the limping Miranda and Miranda shook her head. "Wasn't that hard when every news outlet and every video of you was popping up every time we turned on our omni-tool." Kasumi cut in, thankful that the hood covered up her watering eyes.

"Wasn't hard tracking you either. Miranda's idea to put a tracking device on your omni-tool when you left." Jacob piped in. Shepard gave no comment as her breathing gradually slowed.

"Thank…you…guys…" She whispered, staring at Garrus only. "Hey…Garrus…"

"Shepard…I-" Garrus was cut off by Shepard's squeeze on his hand, and he sadly smiled.

"Love…you…Archang-" Her heartbeat stopped, leaving no time to finish her sentence.

"Was expecting this. Wounds and burns severe. No hope." Mordin said at last after the squad bowed their heads in silence.

Garrus didn't say anything as he laid Shepard's arms over herself, gazing lovingly into her dark blue eyes before closing them. He slowly rested his forehead against hers, relishing in her strange human smell. "Love you too Commander." He murmured, standing back up to leave.

The squad each took a second to give their Commander a silent prayer or nod before leaving.

"May you live on Battlemaster."

"May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess."

"Best goddamn Commander I've ever met."

"Two years wasted…but it was worth it."

"Live on Commander."

"I'll leave a bowl of ramen for you Shep."

"I still owe you Shepard. And thanks for not playing therapist."

"Pleasure serving under you Siha."

"Will make sure turian does not leave. Thanks for bringing me along. Been a pleasure."

"Shepard-Commander…no data available."

"In honor of you Shepard, I will stay Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, proud crew member under Commander Shepard herself. Keelah…"

Garrus just gave her one last gaze and slowly walked away, noting the camera and sniping it with his sniper rifle. "Spirits…"

* * *

"And you really think that me talking to the Council again will change their minds?" Councilor Anderson held his arms behind his back, making sure to block their view away from his holopicture of him and Shepard.

"It's what Shepard would've wanted." Garrus growled lowly, flanked by Miranda Lawson and Tali'Zorah.

"For Shepard then." Anderson nodded and gestured for them to wait while he contacted them. He slightly shivered, remembering seeing the dead Commander in front of him on the screen. Yet he could do nothing for he did not know where his old friend was at. For that he cannot forgive himself.

Garrus glanced around, sighing. If Shepard were still here, she'd want him to finish the fight against the Reapers. And that's exactly what he's going to do…just for her.

"Just like old times…"


End file.
